another newcomer (updated-30/04/2008)

I'm a student aspiring to become a games artist and I would love to get some feedback on my work. I hope joining this community will help me in my improvement.

I still feel like drawing is something very new to me as I have only recently started to put in the effort to learn and practise it, so any advice anyone can offer me will be greatly appreciated. I am currently looking at the loomis figure drawing book, and learning perspective by going out and drawing the local area whenever the weather isn't too bad.

I apologise for posting so many images but I am not looking for individual critique for each of my pieces but a general overview of what I could do to progress. Just incase anyone was wondering I do use reference photos for my work.

wow, those environments are beautiful. Especially that fourth one down. Nice job with that water!

I don't really know what to tell you to improve on. Everything seems to be coming along nicely. Your environments tend to be a little empty. Great textures and colors, but nothing interesting for the viewer to really sink their teeth into.

Your figures are coming along fine too. The perspective on that second guy is a little off (when looking down on a figure, think of the body as a rectangle in perspective to get the right angle for the lines.) But if your reading Loomis you'll be fine. I think he has a chapter on that sort of thing in Figure Drawing:for all it's worth.

Color and mood in your environments are really well done. I feel like there should be something on the shore in the third environment, something for that massive Evil Cloud of Rain Doom to impose upon. I see the little vertical blobs for the sense of scale, but I would like a little more detail so as to learn whether they are natural rock formations or Orc Towers or Wee Lighthouses. So I agree with Mute on that one.

Those enviros are totally awesome! I love the color use, and the textures. Wanna see more!
Your figures look a little flat. I think you shold do some face, hand, and overall figure studies. Imho focus on figure drawing, cause you have much to improve on them then on environments.
Keep up the good work!